Pelvic floor exercises for men Whakangungu pae papatoiake mā ngā tāne

Your pelvic floor muscles are a group of muscles that:

• stretch from your tailbone (coccyx) at the back, to your pubic bone at the front, and from side to side
• can move up and down, a bit like a trampoline
• have holes in them to allow your urethra (the tube you wee through) and anus (where your poo comes out) to pass through.

Together with other muscles, your pelvic floor muscles support and stabilise your pelvis and spine. They also help with bladder and bowel control and prevent leakage of wee (urine), farts and poo.

Male pelvic floor muscles 3D animation — YouTubeexternal link

Male pelvic floor muscles and pelvic organs 

You may have heard about the importance of pelvic floor exercises for women. But a strong pelvic floor is equally important for men, particularly for those with problems weeing.

Weak muscles may be caused by:

• excessive straining when pooing due to constipation
• repeated heavy lifting putting pressure on the muscles
• ageing
• surgery for prostate problems
• persistent coughing
• being an unhealthy weight, which puts more pressure on the muscles.

Your healthcare provider or physiotherapist may recommend that you do exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Or you may want to do them to avoid problems in the future.

Exercising your pelvic floor can help to:

• improve or maintain your bladder and bowel control
• support your pelvic organs and reduce your risk of prolapse (when your internal organs are not supported.)
• improve your recovery after prostate surgery
• make sex more pleasurable
• improve the stability of your core (torso)
• improve your confidence and quality of life.

The first step is to identify your muscles.

• Sit or lie down on a comfortable surface like your bed.
• Relax your thighs, buttocks and tummy muscles.
• Breathe normally, do not hold your breath or change your breathing pattern
• Lift and squeeze your pelvic floor and hold the contraction for 5 seconds.

To make sure you target the right muscles you can imagine:

• trying to hold a fart in by squeezing your back passage closed
• bringing your "nuts to guts" or shortening your penis.

If you are not sure if you have found the correct muscles, stand in front of a mirror naked. Do the contraction and watch what happens to your penis and testicles — you should see a small dip above your penis and your testicles should lift up a little bit.

You can also place 2 fingers just under your scrotum on the flat skin and feel for a tightening under your fingers when you do the contraction. If you see the lift or feel the tightening, you are doing the contraction correctly.

Do the following exercises once a day. You can do them lying, sitting or standing.

1. Tighten your pelvic floor muscles as firmly as you can and hold for 5 to 10 seconds.
2. Rest for 10 seconds.
3. Repeat the first 2 steps 5 times.
4. Do 5 short, fast, strong contractions (pulling up quickly and immediately letting go).

When doing the exercises do not:

• hold your breath
• push or bear down
• tighten your buttocks or thighs too much.

At first you may need to perform these exercises while sitting or lying down. As your muscles strengthen, you can move on to exercising standing up.

As with any muscle training activity, start with what you can achieve and progress from there. As your pelvic floor gets stronger, you can increase the:

• length of time you hold your muscles tight
• number of times you repeat the exercise
• number of sets you do.

If you are having trouble identifying the correct muscles or you are not sure if you are doing the exercises correctly, see your healthcare provider. They may refer you to a continence advisor or a pelvic floor physiotherapist.

Continence advisers — Continence NZexternal link

Pelvic floor physiotherapists — Physiotherapy NZexternal link